Energy Providers Must Adopt Strategic New
Customer Plays, to Compete for Market Share and Increase
Satisfaction or Risk Consumers Switching in Competitive Markets
Consumers want new energy-related products and services,
particularly in the form of new value propositions and most are
demanding a seamless, digital and personalized experience,
Accenture research (NYSE:ACN) shows.
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The research, The New Energy Consumer: Thriving in the
Energy Ecosystem, Accenture’s seventh annual survey of energy
consumers across 17 countries, revealed that consumers are
interested in the next generation of value propositions such as
automated home energy management (76 percent) and connected home
(69 percent).
In addition, the consumer experience is now paramount to drive
uptake of new offerings and increase satisfaction with energy
providers. In fact, 92 percent of consumers would be more satisfied
if their energy provider could personalise their overall customer
experience. A substantial majority expressed an interest in
personalized services like a customisable digital bill or a website
or app that signs them up to the best available offer based on
their real-time energy usage.
Conversely, 77 percent of consumers would be discouraged from
signing up for additional products and services if their energy
provider was not able to provide a seamless experience. For 83
percent, it would negatively impact their satisfaction if a
seamless experience wasn’t provided.
Switching presents a threat to energy providers in
competitive markets
If these consumer expectations are not met in competitive
markets, energy providers may face a constant struggle to retain
customers in face of increasing competition from other energy
providers and new market entrants, amid the challenge of serving
perennial switchers. To provide an example of where consumer
expectations must be met – while 51 percent would like an
application to remotely monitor and control elements of their home,
only 7 percent already have such an application.
Indeed, more customers are considering switching in the next 12
months. In 2016, 37 percent of consumers in competitive markets
reported being likely to switch to a different energy provider
compared to only 28 percent in 2015, a figure that rises among
digital users. This figure increases to 73 percent, who would
consider switching, if a seamless experience could not be
provided.
In addition to direct competition from other energy providers,
non-traditional players and new market entrants also pose a risk.
Eighty percent of all consumers would consider alternative
providers, including specialized energy services companies, phone
and cable providers or retailers, when purchasing not only
energy-related products and services but also electricity.
“Incumbent utilities have considerable resources to fight off
challengers, including invested capital, strong brands and customer
trust, a broad range of established capabilities and decades of
institutional knowhow and data, but they need to adopt new models
now to meet consumer expectations.” said Tony Masella, managing
director of Accenture Energy Consumer Services.
Act fast and adopt new strategic consumer plays
Accenture has identified three primary strategic customer plays
for energy providers to successfully compete for market share and
meet customer demands in this new battleground of consumer-centric
energy products and services.
- Commodity-Centric Provider:
Given consumers’ increasing needs, this play is about creating a
solid foundation for lean, agile and automated customer operations
and offers a suite of digital interactions and effortless
experiences. It focuses on low cost and high reliability. Not only
is it important for today’s market, but it also acts as a flexible
base – supporting moves into additional customer plays as well as
future growth.
- Energy Marketplace Enabler: This
approach focuses on energy providers being the facilitators of the
evolving energy marketplace. It enables them to be trusted advisors
to customers who expect more than just energy from their provider,
as well as a solutions integrator and information broker of smart
and distributed energy resources (DER) technology.
- Connected Lifestyle Provider:
Energy providers can drive profitability in new markets by
proactively targeting and actively engaging consumers. They can
become the partner of choice for the collaborative and connected
home of the future with a focus on commercial and product
innovation. This play also monetizes DER at scale, but requires
collaboration with an ecosystem of technology and service providers
to knit together a seamless connected lifestyle proposition.
No single model is inherently better or worse, and depending on
consumer trends and geographic span, most utilities will ultimately
adopt a mix of the primary customer plays to position for today and
the future.
“The ability to provide both a compelling customer experience
and a high-performing organization hinges on investing in people,
selecting the right operating model and developing the right
capabilities to efficiently and effectively execute against the
right strategic customer plays,” added Masella.
About the research
The multi-year New Energy Consumer research program is designed
to help utilities understand emerging consumer needs and
preferences, to identify new challenges and opportunities and to
bring focus to the critical competencies required to succeed in the
evolving energy marketplace. The program draws upon primary
research insights from end consumers around the world, leading
practices from industry and cross-industry providers, and
technology adoption analysis.
Methodology
Accenture’s seventh year of this global research is based on
questionnaire-led interviews with end consumers. Surveys were
conducted online in native languages for Accenture by Harris
Interactive. The selected countries represent a range of regulated
and competitive markets. In 2016, a total of 9,537 interviews were
conducted in 17 countries, including 1,358 in the United States,
647 in the United Kingdom, 532 in Canada, and 500 in each of the
following countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Philippines,
Portugal, Singapore and Spain. For residential consumers the survey
sample was statistically representative of the general population
in each country, with the exceptions of Brazil, China, Malaysia and
the Philippines, where the sample was representative of the urban
populations. For countries with large and/or diverse populations,
participants were selected from a broad spectrum of locations. The
surveys included attitudinal, behavioral and demographic
questions.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries
and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business
and technology to help clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately
384,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries,
Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and
lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161024006306/en/
AccentureGuy Cantwell, + 1 281 900
9089guy.cantwell@accenture.comorMatt Corser, + 44 755 784
9009matthew.corser@accenture.com
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